Every three seconds, someone breaks a bone due to osteoporosis, a common bone disease. Worldwide, this amounts to more than 8.9 million fractures every year.¹ Osteoporosis is often described as a silent disease because it may cause no symptoms until a fracture occurs. You may not even know you have osteoporosis until after you break a bone, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOP).²

In the U.S., about 10 million adults have osteoporosis, while 44 million have low bone density, known as osteopenia, which raises your risk of fractures and may progress into osteoporosis.³ This means that half of all adults age 50 and older are at risk of breaking a bone and should be concerned about bone health, NOP points out.⁴

Among women over 50, 1 in 2 will break a bone due to osteoporosis, as will 1 in 4 men. A fracture can occur from a minor fall or, in some cases, even from sneezing or bumping into a piece of furniture.

What Are the Causes of Osteoporosis?

Your bone mass grows from birth into adulthood, reaching its peak during puberty. From there, loss of bone mass begins. Your peak bone mass is influenced by genetics, nutrition, gender, physical activity and health status during your growth period.⁵

The greater your peak bone mass, the more protection you have against osteoporosis later in life, such that an increase of peak bone mass of one standard deviation may reduce fracture risk by 50%.⁶

However, your bone tissue is continuously remodeled throughout your life. Tissue is lost by resorption and rebuilt by formation. If resorption outpaces formation, bone loss occurs,⁷ which can lead to osteoporosis. According to Penn Medicine:⁸

Osteoporosis is a condition that leads to loss of bone mass. From the outside, osteoporotic bone is shaped like normal bone. However, the inside of the bones becomes more porous during the aging process due to the loss of calcium and phosphate.

The loss of these minerals makes the bones more prone to fracture even during routine activities, like walking, standing, or bathing. Often, a person will sustain a fracture before becoming aware of the presence of the disease.

A number of nonmodifiable factors can influence your...

PMID:  Int J Mol Sci. 2023 May 31 ;24(11). Epub 2023 May 31. PMID: 37298548 Abstract Title:  Bisphenol S Reduces Pig Spermatozoa Motility through Different Intracellular Pathways and Mechanisms than Its Analog Bisphenol A. Abstract:  Bisphenol A (BPA: 2,3-bis (4-hydroxyphenyl) propane) is an environmental chemical widely used in the manufacturing of epoxy polymers and many thermoplastic consumer products. Serious concerns about its safety led to the development of analogs, such as BPS (4-hydroxyphenyl sulfone). Very limited studies about BPS's impact on reproduction, specifically in spermatozoa, exist in comparison with BPA. Therefore, this work aims to study the in vitro impact of BPS in pig spermatozoa in comparison with BPA, focusing on sperm motility, intracellular signaling pathways and functional sperm parameters. We have used porcine spermatozoa as an optimal and validated in vitro cell model to investigate sperm toxicity. Pig spermatozoa were exposed to 1 and 100M BPS or BPA for 3 and 20 h. Both bisphenol S and A (100M) significantly reduce pig sperm motility in a time-dependent manner, although BPS exerts a lower and slower effect than BPA. Moreover, BPS (100M, 20 h) causes a significant increase in the mitochondrial reactive species, whereas it does not affect sperm viability, mitochondrial membrane potential, cell reactive oxygen species, GSK3/phosphorylation or phosphorylation of PKA substrates. However, BPA (100M, 20 h) leads to a decrease in sperm viability, mitochondrial membrane potential, GSK3phosphorylation and PKA phosphorylation, also causing an increase in cell reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial reactive species. These intracellular effects and signaling pathways inhibited might contribute to explaining the BPA-triggered reduction in pig sperm motility. However, the intracellular pathways and mechanisms triggered by BPS are different, and the BPS-caused reduction in motility can be only partially attributed to an increase in mitochondrial oxidant species.

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Editor's Note: This article is a reprint. It was originally published July 23, 2018.

Iodine deficiency and the thyroid conditions related to it are a serious public health concern. Several studies published earlier this year suggest iodine deficiency is re-emerging. While about 40% of the world's population is thought to be at risk of iodine deficiency,¹ residents of developed countries are increasingly found to be lacking this essential nutrient.

Your body cannot produce iodine so you must get if from your diet. Iodine is necessary to make thyroid hormones, which control your metabolism and other vital functions. Because your thyroid hormones also support proper bone and brain development in utero and during infancy, the proper intake of iodine is critically important for pregnant women, nursing mothers and their babies.

What Is Iodine and Why Is It Important?

As mentioned, iodine is an essential element needed for the production of thyroid hormone. Because your body does not make iodine, you need to be intentional to ensure you obtain sufficient amounts of this nutrient on a daily basis. Although iodine can be sourced from the foods you eat or through a supplement, many people eating a standard American diet generally get enough iodine simply by using table salt. I'll say more about salt later in the article.

When your body lacks sufficient iodine, it cannot make enough thyroid hormone. If your deficiency is severe, your thyroid may become enlarged, a condition also known as a goiter. Iodine deficiency can also cause hypothyroidism (low thyroid function). In some cases, lack of sufficient iodine can trigger intellectual disabilities and developmental problems in infants and children whose mothers were iodine deficient during pregnancy.²

According to the American Thyroid Association, iodine deficiency has also been linked to "increased difficulty with information processing, diminished fine motor skills, extreme fatigue, depression, weight gain and low basal body temperatures, among other things."³

Studies Highlight Iodine Deficiency as an Emerging Problem

A 2018 study published in the journal Nutrients⁴ involving 1,007 mothers who gave birth to 1,017 children (including 10 twin pairs; multiple births other than twins were excluded), suggests iodine deficiency is a significant public health issue in Norway. After collecting data multiple times...